Everyone around us pulls back. A wide circle forms in the central plaza in front of the dorm building—a makeshift arena drawn by retreating feet.
"Awfully confident for a dirty rat that was running for his life a few days ago."
"Don't take it the wrong way, Freya. That wasn't submission. It was caution."
"Caution? You showed no caution when you were murdering my friends in the battle royale."
I let out a long breath.
Set aside how personal this is becoming. Set aside the heroine I used to see in her in my past life. I patterned myself on her once. Maybe by tampering with the timeline I twisted that personality into facing me. A question I'm never going to get the answer to.
"I really did admire you. Up close, all I see is hypocrisy."
"Hypocrisy?"
Her eyes narrow. I can see her calculating the weight of my next answer.
